Perris Press Release

Construction is Completed and Begins
on I-215 Improvements

Perris Mayor Daryl Busch addresses the audience prior to the ground-breaking for new construction in Interstate 215 between Perris and Menifee. Busch: New roadway represents regional improvement of traffic flow and movement of commerce and people.

Perris officials were joined by regional transportation executives to cut the ribbon on one recently-completed stretch of improvements to Interstate 215 and simultaneously break ground on a new stretch of work that will drastically improve the lives of City residents.

Construction is set to begin in January on the 12-mile stretch of I-215 from Scott Road to Nuevo Road, which will add a third lane in each direction.

When finished in 2014 or 2015, the Scott-Nuevo improvements will improve traffic flow from Temecula to Moreno Valley. Perris residents, commuters and businesses stand to reap the windfall—reduced travel times, less fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions, improved air quality and better connections to neighboring communities.

“At long last, the gap in the freeway is will be closed,” said
Riverside County Supervisor Marion Ashley, who lives in Perris.

“The final link will make it easier for people from all over Southern California to enjoy the amenities in Perris—the Big League Dreams (sports complex), the Perris Skydiving Center, the Perris-Menifee Aquatics Center, the museums and the Perris Auto Speedway. It’s really going to help Perris big time.”

Cost of the Scott-Nuevo improvements is projected at $102 million and also includes widening a portion of Perris Boulevard, replacing the D Street overcrossing, improving drainage systems, installing sound walls and resurfacing existing I-215 freeway lanes.

Funding state monies and the Measure A transportation sales tax. The project will create about 1,850 jobs.
The new lanes through Perris are not the only major construction projects in and near the City. Others include ongoing construction of new interchanges at Van Buren Boulevard and Ramona Expressway
and the recently completed interchange at Fourth Street.

When everything is completed, Perris Mayor Daryl Busch said traffic flow in and out of the City will vastly improve.
“It’s the last leg but it’s going to be an important leg,” Busch said. “It’s going to provide a regional improvement and that will mean a lot to people in our area.”

While much of the Oct. 29 ceremony near Scott Road and I-215 concentrated on future improvements, the event also allowed speakers to tout the recently completed expansion of the freeway between Murrieta Hot Springs Road and Scott Road. That section cost $29 million. Mayor Busch and Supervisor Ashley were among the dignitaries who cut the ribbon on that project and were joined by representatives of the Riverside County Transportation Commission, Caltrans, Riverside County and the cities of Murrieta and Menifee.

Riverside County Supervisor Jeff Stone, who lives in Temecula, credited improvements in the southern portion of I-215 with reducing his commute to Riverside by 10 minutes. Stone and other speakers emphasized how Riverside County is “a self-help county” that forges partnerships and finds local sources of revenues to complete major road projects.
“Our investment is paying dividends,” Stone said. “Local government does work and that work is exemplified here today.”